Niddah 68: Presumptive Status of Ritual Im/Purity and Intermediate Days

To conclude yesterday's conversations, the rabbis consider the halacha regarding a woman who washes her hair before immersion in the mikvah.  Hair washing should be done immediately before immersion, but if immersion is to happen at the end of Shabbat, hair washing cannot take place first for it would be too late in the day to then immerse before being permitted to her husband that same night.  The rabbis rule that a woman must wash her hair and immerse on the same evening unless that is not possible, in which case she is permitted to immerse the following day.

A new Mishna teaches several cases to examine the concept of niddah:

• A woman who examines herself on the seventh day and sees no blood and then immerses in the mikvah without checking herself again at twilight is considered to be ritually pure from the time of examination until the time that she examines herself again to find blood, even if that is only several days after immersion

• A woman who examines herself on the seventh day and finds blood but immerses anyway on the eve of the eighth day is considered to be ritually impure from the point that she found blood until the time that she examines herself again and finds herself to be ritually impure - anything that she touched over that time is also ritually impure

• A woman who examines herself on the morning of the seventh day and finds no blood but then finds blood several days later, her presumptive status is of ritual purity between examinations but she is considered to have imparted ritual impurity to anything that she touched for a twenty-four hour period from examination to examination

• If that last woman has a fixed menstrual cycle, she is considered to be ritually pure from the time she saw blood (there is no retroactive status of ritual impurity)

• Rabbi Yehuda rules stringently, saying that a woman is presumed to be ritually impure if she does not examine herself after mincha on the seventh day following the start of menstruation

• the rabbis rule more leniently, saying that even after only two days of menstruation and then finding blood, a woman is deemed ritually pure between examination and immersion 

In the Gemara, Rav and Levi argue about whether the first woman is a definite greater zava or an uncertain greater zava.  The rabbis debate the presumptive status of a woman who has not checked herself for blood at many different times following the first seven days of one's period.  For people who have never in their lives had a period, they are very intent on describing these facts.

We are introduced to a new Mishna.  It teaches that the zav and zava must examine themselves on each day for seven clean days before purification in a mikvah. Those who are ritually pure on the first day and the seventh day but did not check themselves over the middle days are presumed to be ritually pure by Rabbi Eliezer.  Rabbi Yehoshua says that they must count another seven clean days following the seventh day.  Rabbi Akiva says that they have counted only the seventh day and they must count six more days.

The Gemara begins to explore whether or not a seminal emission during the intermediate days will transmit renewed ritual impurity to a zav.  The rabbis also consider how a zava might be different from or similar to a zav when considering the implications of finding menstrual blood during the intermediate days between counting days.  

Niddah 67: Immersion During the Day When Women are not Safe At Night

Today's daf discusses when a woman should immerse in the mikva.  We know that a woman who is niddah begins counting from the first day of menstruation.  She can immerse at the end of the seventh day, even if her bleeding continues through the week, but Rav teaches that this immersion that must be at the end of the day.  If she waits until the next day, she is permitted to immerse during the day.  Rabbi Yochanan disagrees, noting that her daughter might see this behaviour and believe that it was proper behaviour on the wrong day.

The rabbis discuss exceptions to the rule that women immerse in the evening of their last day:

• Rav Idi says that immersion should be done on the eighth day in Neresh when lions roam that area during the day
• Rav Acha bar Yaakov says that immersion should be done on the eighth day when thieves are in Pappunya 
• Rav Yehuda says that immersion at Pumbedita should happen during the eighth day due to the cold at night
• Rava says that the guards at the city gates of Mechoza are not trustworthy and thus women can immerse on the eighth day at night

The principle is that when there is danger at night, women can immerse during the day following her seventh day of niddah.

Niddah 66: The Menstrual Cycle and Extra Stringencies

Rabbi Zeira says that Jewish women are stringent regarding menstrual blood.  That means that instead of just being ritually impure for the seven days of their periods, they are ritually impure as a zava for an additional week.  Certainly the extra days are an extreme stringency but our tradition insists that women are considered to be ritually impure at least two weeks of each menstrual cycle.  

Nidda 64: Fertility and Menstrual Blood

At the very end of today's daf, we are introduced to a new Mishna.  It teaches us that woman's menstrual blood is like a vineyard: some is red and some is black in colour.  Some is abundant and some is meagre.  And just like leaven is good for bread, menstrual blood is good for a woman.

The rabbis discuss the importance of a woman's fertility.  Like all of us, they want to know that they have some sense of understanding of and control over women's bodily functions.

Niddah 63: Blood Stains and Establishing Menstrual Cycles

The Gemara cotinues to discuss the seven substances that remove blood?

1. Tasteless saliva: that which has been in one's mouth overnight; it contains several chemicals/enzymes that help with cleaning
2. Liquid from String Beans comes from chewing up those beans using the warm saliva of one's mouth
3. Urine: must be fermented for three days
4. Natron: Alexandrian
5. Borit: sulfer, one type of ice plant
6. Casmonian earth: earth that is "pull out, stick in"; the meaning is not decidedly defined
7. Potash: found in the shell of a pearl and removed with an iron stick

Some notes:

• if soap is applied after these seven substances and the stain disappears, the item remains ritually impure because of uncertainty - the stain might have disappeared at that point anyway
• the rabbis compare this with the discharge of a zav into a ceramic bowl where the discharge creates ritual impurity everywhere if it is heated and ritual impurity when touched

A first Mishna from today's daf is introduced: A woman has a regular menstrual cycle if she recognizes the start of menstruation by time or by physical sensation.  The sensations might be sneezing, yawning, shuddering, feeling a secretion, etc.  If this happens three cycles in a row, she has established a pattern has a regular cycle.

A second Mishna is introduced: a woman who experiences these signs of menstruation does not have to be named ritually impure retroactively.

Our third Mishna describes a woman who tastes something (onions, garlic, pepper, etc.) which provokes menstruation.  The rabbis debate the meaning of being able to do this three times in a row.

Finally, our fourth Mishna: if a woman menstruates on the fifteenth day of her cycle and then deviates to the twentieth day, she is not permitted to have intercourse with her husband between the fifteenth and twentieth day.  If this happens twice, she is not permitted to her husband on the fifteenth or the twentieth.  If it happens three times, she is permitted to her husband from the fifteenth until the nineteenth at which point the twentieth is a day for herself.

Niddah 62: Seven Substances that Remove Blood

A new Mishna tells us that there are seven substances that will remove blood.  If they remove a bloodstain well, then we know that the stain is from blood rather than from another chemical.  These are saliva, liquid from split beans, urine, neuron (sodium carbonate), borit, cimolean earth (from clay) and potash (from grass).  The Mishna describes how to use these substances (including soaking in saliva for three days, etc.) and in which order to use them.  The process should be repeated three times, in the proper order, for the desired outcome to be achieved.  

Gemara commentary discerns the precise details of each of these substances, their uses, and their parts in determining whether an item is ritually impure or not.  The rabbis share arguments regarding many of these items.  One of these is where Rabbi Yochanan recalls Rabbi Chiyya's teaching that once a garment has gone through each of these cleaning techniques seven times, the garment is either still stained and so the item is ritually pure (not from menstrual blood in the first place) or it is perfectly clear and thus came from blood but that blood is gone.  In both cases, the item should be considered to be ritually pure.  Rabbi Lakish notes that this cannot be a quote from Rabbi Chiyya for his teacher was Rabbi HaNasi who wrote the Mishna and thus ruled more stringently on this matter.  

Niddah 61: Finding the Source of Ritual Impurity; Gedaliah

Today's Mishna tells us about Rabbi's Meir's statement about tameh, ritual impurity.  He says that when there is a tradition that when ritual impurity is found in a given place, we assume that it is there until it is located and removed.  However, when the area has been searched and no source of impurity is found, we can assume that it isn't there.

The Gemara tells us many stories to describe this statement.  In every example, the impurity is found after the search has been completed.  The Gemara teaches us that in each case the search must have been done incorrectly.  There is one story that stands out relating to an incident at the close of the First Temple period.

Abba Shaul teaches Beit Horon's surrounding areas were thought to be ritually impure. An old man named Rabbi Yehoshua bar Chananya knew how to address this and he found a put full of bones.  The Gemara said that this was a pit that Yishmael ben Nataniah had filled with corpses from the side of Gedaliah.  Who killed them, Gedaliah or Yishmael?  

Steinsaltz teaches the story of Gedaliah's murder at the hands of Yishmael ben Netaniah in Ch.41-42 of Yirmiyahu.  After the first Temple was destroyed and the Israelites were exiled under Judean leadership, the Babylonian king appointed Gedaliah to govern the Jews who stayed in the Land of Israel.  Under the encouragement of King Baalis of Amon, Yishmael ben Netaniah assassinated Gedaliah.

The remaining Jews fled for Egypt.  We now commemorate the emptied land of Israel with the Fast of Gedaliah which falls on the day after Rosh HaShana.

Niddah 60: Three Women in the Same Bed: Public or Private?

We know that the rabbis decided that a woman should behave as if she is niddah even in situations where the Torah deems her ritually pure.  Today's daf ask a question about public verses private instances of finding kedamim, blood stains:  If three women slept in a single bed and blood was found under one of the them they are all ritually impure.  If one of them examined herself with a cloth and was found to be impure, she herself is deemed ritually impure while the other two are considered to be pure.  

The rabbis ask why any of the women should be considered to be ritually impure if the stain is under just one of them and they are permitted to be lenient.  They introduce a principal: safek tumah b'reshut harabbim, tahor: doubtful impurity in a public pace is considered to be ritually impure.  A public place is one with at least three people.  Because of this, the three women sleeping together are sleeping in a public place and questionable impurity should be treated with leniency.

Several answers are offered to address this question.  Here are three examples:

• three people might not constitute a reshut harabim, a public place.  If the three are in a hidden place, like these women in bed, it is considered to be a private place.
• the rule that doubtful impurity in the public domain is considered to be ritually pure only applies when the impurity comes from the outside, for example when someone stepped over a grave, but does not apply when that impurity comes from a person her/himself, like in the case of a ketem.
• If the women presented their cases separately they might have been deemed ritually pure.  When they all came together, one of them had to be the sources of the ketem and so they are all declared to be ritually impure.

Again, the rabbis are balancing their desire to allow women to be intimate with their husbands as frequently as possible with their felt need for providing structure and stringency.

Niddah 59: Bloodstains Found in Lent Clothing: Opportunities for Leniencies and Stringencies

When a woman finds a ketam, a blood stain, in her clothing, the rabbis are permitted to rule leniently about her status as ritually impure.  If she borrows a cloak from a friend, she is still considered to be ritually pure as long as she has a reason that the blood could belong to someone else.  The blood might even belong to her, but if it likely comes from an opened wound, it does not render her ritually impure.  

Today's daf considers when three women present with questions about ritual purity.  If two of the women are deemed ritually pure, the third will have to be deemed ritually impure.  The rabbis are permitted to look for leniencies; however, they are encouraged to keep stringency in mind.

The rabbis argue about the exact meaning of the Gemara's descriptions of these three women.  It is difficult to discern the narratives of this example.

Niddah 57: Ritual Impurity Based on Where Blood is Found

We begin a new Mishna on daf 57(b).  It teaches that blood found adjacent to one's vagina must have come from her uterus and thus renders her ritually impure.  Women are also considered to be ritually impure if a blood stain is found anywhere on the inside of her legs or on her feet, heels, big toe - anywhere that the blood could have fallen.  If the blood is found on the outside of her legs, she is considered to be ritually pure because the blood could not have come from her uterus.  If blood is found on her robe or sleeves where the robe could touch her vagina, she is considered to be ritually impure.

Notable is the word beit haturpa, a euphemism for vagina.  It either refers to to the most shameful part of a woman's body, or the part of her body that feels most vulnerable to shame or embarrassment.  It could also be related to the word toref, essence, or turpa, weakness.  There is no need to share a feminist interpretation of these words; it goes without saying. 

The rabbis again argue about the status of a woman who examines the ground, sits down, and rises, finding blood beneath her.  Many rabbis say that she is ritually pure because she felt nothing "in her flesh", which is required by both Torah and rabbinic halacha.  They try to reconcile the requirement to feel a flow of blood and the fact that a woman is considered to be ritually pure if there is a blood stain on the lower half of her clothing.  The rabbis note that a woman might have walked past a butcher and her clothing was stained from that interaction.  They also note that the shape of a blood stain next to one's vagina should be long rather than round to indicate that it is blood from one's uterus. 

Niddah 56: On a Beit Haperas and When Kutim are Trusted with Halacha

Today's daf has a Mishna that tells us to turn to the Kutim for advice on the status of a ketem, stained item of clothing.  Many examples are shared regarding what is trusted and not trusted when it comes to the opinions of Kutim.

Kutim are trusted when they say that that they buried a still-born infant in a certain place.  They are also trusted when they testify regarding markings on grave sites.  They are not trusted regarding to questions about overhanging boughs or protrusions that jut out of stone fences when a grave might sit beneath it.  They are also not trusted when deciding whether or not a field is a beit haperas, a field that might hold a dead body.  We must be careful when fields are plowed in case their former use was as a grave site.  

We learn that in general, the Kutim are trusted in areas of Jewish law that they agree with bu that they are not trusted in areas where they disagree with Jewish law. 

Niddah 55: Wet and Dry Sources of RItual Impurity

We begin a new Perek today and we carry on with the Mishna that begun yesterday.  We had learned that menstrual blood and the flesh of a corpse impart ritual impurity when they are moist.  Even if they are dried, the ritual impurity returns if the item is soaked in water for twenty-four hours.  

The rabbis discuss other sources of ritual impurities that can be transferred when wet or dry.  One of the examples is discussion about the secretions of a zav, a man with an STI.  The rabbis determine that his semen, mucous from the mouth or nose and spittle can impart ritual impurity only when wet.  

Why aren't tears one of the wet secretions that impart a zav's ritual impurity?  The Gemara repeats Rav's words: He who wishes to blind his eye shall have it painted by a gentile, and Levi stated that he who wishes to die shall have his eyes painted by a gentile.

Steinsaltz teaches us about kohl, the black-blue makeup used in Talmudic times.  Ti was used around the eyes to make them appear larger.  It was also used as medicine.  In the Talmud Yerushalmi, we learn that Rav did not use kohl but Levi did.  Kohl was made of mercury and it may have been used as a poison.

Niddah 54: When Intercourse is Permitted

Today's daf ends Perek VI.  It focuses on two main issues: the number of days that a woman can have intercourse with her husband, and when a woman may have miscarried and how to know whether that fetus was male or female. 

The rabbis are very specific about the number of days that a woman might be permitted to have intercourse with her husband.  She is ritually impure and thus untouchable from the first day of bleeding for eight days including one clean day of being a lesser ziva.  Then she is ritually pure for seven more days.  Then she is watching for blood, and finally she is ritually impure again.  There are larger periods of time counted, as well - fourty-eight days and one hundred days.  Within each time period the rabbis determine for how many days women and their husbands are permitted to have intercourse.  There is acknowledgement that some women are ritually impure for ten days and then ritually pure for ten days.  Finally, it is notable that if the couple has intercourse within times of ritual impurity, the husband is never permitted to have intercourse with his wife again.  That is a serious repercussion. 

All of this suggests that women are eager to have intercourse with their husbands.  There is one sentence that addresses a husband's desire: a man who does not wait for his wife to be completely ritually pure is considered to be a glutton and thus should not be permitted to have intercourse at all.

Niddah 53: Women Finding a Blood Stain

We have already learned that becoming ritually impure as a niddah is learned from Vayikra (15:19), where it says, "And if a woman has an issue, and her issue in her flesh is blood, she will be in her ritual impurity seven days; and anyone who touches her will be ritually impure until the evening".  

The rabbis understand this passage as referring to 

• a flow of blood
• the sensation of the flow of blood

If a woman finds a ketem, stain, on her clothing, the Torah does not say that she is a niddah.  However, the Sages ruled that she is a niddah based on their rabbinic ruling alone.  The Gemara say that Rabbi Yehuda HaNasi taught: if a woman sees a bloodstain and then sees a discharge of blood, she is permitted to assume that the blood has flowed within twenty-four hours. Rabbi Shimon ben Elazar ruled that it must be during the same day.  Thus the status of niddah does not extend back to when the clothing was washed but only since the moment it was found, as long as these events were within a twenty-four hour period.  Rabbi Elazar limits this to one day.   

Rabbi Betzalel Ranschberg teaches that there is no clear ruling on this matter.  However, it is irrelevant because Rabbi Zeira ruled successfully that women must wait seven "clean" days after seeing even one spot of blood.  

Niddah 51: Ritual Impurity/Kashrut/Tithing of Birds and Fish; When Blessings Must be Recited

In Niddah 50, we learned about some of the laws of pe'a as they overlap with the laws regarding tithes.  Today's daf focuses on the kashrut of birds.  when discussing birds, the rabbis note that contact with the carcass of a non-kosher bird does not impart ritual impurity until at least an olive bulk passes down one's throat.  Further, they consider imparting ritual impurity through one of seven liquids: water, dew, milk, blood, wine, oil or honey must drop onto the owner's clothing without his/her knowledge.

There are several Mishnayot that consider the status of different items: tithing and shearing of certain first-born animals, the kashrut around fish with scales and fins, and the generalization that if a blessing is required following an action, it is also required before the action.  However, it may not be necessary to bless an action after it taken place if the blessing was given beforehand. 

Niddah 49: Can Women be Judges?

We learn in the first of three Mishnayot in today's daf that a vessel with a hole in it can both let in water and allow water to escape, and thus it cannot be sanctified.  Similarly, when a limb is pierced by a nail, there must be a bone in that limb and thus if it is a corpse, it will impart ritual impurity.  The second and third Mishnayot focus on what is permitted of adjudicators.  One might be qualified to adjudicate in certain types of offenses but not in others. 

To that last point, the rabbis wonder about Deborah, the judge.  First, Tosafot say that this Mishna refers to men only.  Any judge can serve as a witness, but some who can serve as witnesses cannot be judges.  Tosafot then argue that Devorah was a special circumstance because she was given Heavenly approval to judge.  Thirdly, Tosafot teach that Devorah did not actually serve as a judge.  Instead, she taught the laws of judgement to the Jewish people. 

This last argument seems unlikely considering that people lined up to hear her judgements.  How is that different from other judges?

Niddah 48: Young Women's Breasts Again

We begin Perek VI today with a new Mishna.  It teaches that two pubic hairs are the definitive sign of womanhood.  If a woman's childless husband died, she is permitted to perform chalitza with her husband's brother.  If upper signs of puberty appear first, Rabbi Meir says that it must be that the two hairs fell out.  Thus she cannot perform chalitza nor marry her husband's brother.  The rabbis teach that she is permitted to perform chalitza or enter into levirate marriage.  In fact, the lower signs of puberty can appear before the upper signs but not the other way around.

The rabbis discuss the timing of lower and upper signs of puberty.  They turn to writings that order the development of these secondary sexual characteristics as proofs.  The rabbis then turn to the development of one breast before the other.  They note that this might have to do with the responsibilities that come with poverty, childcare, and physical labour.  An example of one young woman is shared.  At the end of our daf, we learn that women are considered by most of our rabbis to be those who will check for these signs of sexual maturity.  Rabbi Yehuda disagrees, not trusting women to judge young women accurately.  The rabbis agree that women are permitted to evaluated as long as they judge more stringently than leniently.

Again, we are forced to face the reality of young women's lives.  There is an understanding that young women's breasts will be watched, touched and evaluated by others even at the age of eleven. We know that scrutiny and evaluation of our bodies continues, and that it damage both women and men: women focus on the value of our bodies over all else, and men learn that women's bodies are somehow detached from our emotional and intellectual experiences.

Niddah 47: Young Women's Breasts; Status of the Aylonit

Our new Mishna returns to the concept of womanhood and what defines sexual maturity.  A woman is compared with a fig: a child up to age twelve and one day is like an unripened fig.  Between ages twelve and one day and thirteen, a girl is a ripening fig. Add the development of secondary sex characteristics from age thirteen on, a girl is like a ripe fig.  We are reminded that a minor and a young woman are both under their father's control.  He can own any options that she finds, nullify her vows, and take her earnings.  Once she is a woman, he can do none of these things any longer.

The rabbis have a terribly uncomfortable conversation about the development of breasts.  They question what indicates the development of breasts: is it a line beneath the breast? Is it the breast hanging over? Is it the darkening of the nipples?  Is it nipples that return to their shape slowly when pressed down by someone?

There are two disturbing features to this discussion.  The first is the permission that is given for fathers to examine and even touch their daughters' bodies.  This is the same daf that speaks about fathers' ownership of their daughters' income, found items and vows.  Would that not suggest that fathers own their daughters' bodies?  Secondly, this gives men permission to talk about, to discuss, and to stare at young women's developing breasts.  Disgusting.

Today's daf also examines the aylonit, sexual underdeveloped woman who cannot have children. It briefly looks at the saris, sexually underdeveloped men who have no secondary sex characteristics by the age of twenty.  Steinsaltz teaches that the root of aylonit is ayil, a male ram, who is thought of as masculine.  We learn that an aylonit cannot become a yevama, a childless widow who marries her brother-in-law, because the point of yibum is to have children who continue the family line (Devarim 25:6).  

The Gemara discusses the genetic origin of an aylonit.  An akara, barren woman, is different because her sexual and physical development are normal but she cannot have children for a different reason.  An aylonit is missing secondary sex characteristics, like pubic hair.  She might have more male hormones than usual or she may have only one X chromosome (Turner syndrome).  We learn in the Koren Talmud that 98% of fetuses with Turner syndrome spontaneously abort.   The rabbis ask many questions about the determination of the status of aylonit because it cannot be determined until adulthood, which affects a woman's status and functioning within society.

Niddah 46: Contraception for Those at Risk

Today's daf looks at birth control.  A moch, an observant cloth, can be inserted into (or clean out) the vagina in three cases: a minor, a pregnant woman and a woman who is nursing.  A minor could die from a pregnancy. A pregnant woman could become pregnant a second time and the fetus could become deformed like a sandal fish.  A woman who is nursing could stop nursing if she became pregnant which could kill the live infant.  Rabbi Meir says that a minor girl is one who is between eleven and twelve years old.  One who is older or younger than that should partake in intercourse.  The chachamim say that all women should take part in regular intercourse.

Niddah 45: Death of Infants and Inheritance

The rabbis discuss whether or not a baby take on the inheritance of his mother's belongings if she dies before the infant.  They seem to agree that the baby must be born and alive before its mother dies if such a change will be made.  What if a baby seems to convulse after its mother's birth?  An example is given of a lizard's tail or a human hand, which might continue to twitch after its tail has been removed from its body.  A baby is understood to be reliant on its mother until at least immediately after it has been born.  

One explanation for this is that a developing embryo is fully reliant on its mother for nourishment, oxygen, etc.  If her body is not functioning, then the embryo dies. 

Today's conversation in addition to conversations in Massecht Oholot leads us to better understand origins of organ harvesting when a person has been declared brain dead.

Niddah 43: Ritual Defilement by Sheretz or Shichvat Zeva

The Gemara teaches us about different types of tumah, ritual impurity.  

• the smallest amount of semen causes ritual impurity imparted by shichvat zera 
• coming into contact with a sheretz, a creeping animal, by just the size of a lentil is required for one to become tameh
• Sheretz are small creatures that crawl including rodents, lizards, insects, small creatures that crawl
• The smallest of the eight animals called sheretz must be at least the size of a lentil at birth
• Shichvat zera is "divided in its ritual defilement", where its laws apply only to Jews
• in the laws of sheretz a "land mouse" imparts ritual impurity but a "sea mouse"* does not
• Thus laws of shichvat zera apply to adults
• The laws of shichvat apply to new born creatures and adults

*possibly a snail or a fish that looks like a mouse.

Niddah 42: When Circumcision is Permitted

Today we learn about brit, circumcision, which is commanded to take place eight days after a child's birth - the same day of the week as the birth itself. The rabbis ask what should be done if a baby is born on the twilight between erev Shabbat and Shabbat.  We learn though the Gemara that it is permitted to perform a circumcision on Shabbat, but if there is a doubt as to when the baby was born, we do not opt for a brit on Shabbat.  Instead, we wait for Sunday or another day for the brit.  Of course, if there are any medical issues, the birt is postponed until the infant is well.

Niddah 41: Cesarean Birth and Sanctity

A brief note on today's daf: the rabbis discuss the status of a cesarean birth regarding sanctity.  A cesarean birth is not considered to be normal.  To discuss this point, the rabbis turn to their understanding of sanctified animals.  A newborn carries the status of its mother.  A cesarean-born newborn does not carry that sanctity.

Very interesting that travel through the vagina is necessary regarding status, both with ritual purity and with sanctity.  Is this about what is "usual", or is this about some magic power held in the vagina?

Niddah 40: Cesarean Section and Ritual Impurity

Today's daf is the beginning of Perek V.  We learn that following a cesarean section, a woman need not wait for the seven or fourteen days of ritual impurity, nor is she required to bring an offering after thirty-three or sixty-six days.  Rabbi Shimon disagrees, saying that she is subject to the same halacha as that following normal childbirth.  

We are then reminded that all women become ritually impure when blood flows from the uterus into the outer chamber, the vagina, even when it has not left the woman's body: "And her issue in her flesh shall be blood, she shall be in her menstruation seven days", (Leviticus 15:19).  A zav, one who experiences any discharge and one who has a seminal emission (even the size of a mustard seed) do not become ritually impure until the emission of impurity leaves the body.  Thus women are subject to ritual impurity much more easily than men.  

Finally, the Mishna teaches that a priest taking teruma who feels quaking in his limbs or another predictor of an emission should hold his penis firmly to prevent the emission from leaving his body and swallow the teruma while he is still ritually pure.  

Is a woman considered to be ritually impure following a cesarean section?  She would normally be called ritually impure with tum'at leida, the impurity of childbirth (Vayikra 12:1-5).  This would be the case even if there is no blood in the vaginal canal, says Rabbi Shimon.  But the Tanna Kamma of the Mishna say that if the child born is a yotze dofen, that it emerges from the side of the body, then the laws of tum'at leida do do not apply to its mother.  

Steinsaltz teaches us that a yotze dofen refers to any birth that does not progress in an ordinary way.  Cesarian sections were performed on mothers who had already died.  It has only been in modern times that women have survived cesarean sections done while they are alive.  However, the Gemara seems to discuss several cases where a mother survives this surgery and goes on to have more children.  It is difficult to know the details of this critical part of our history.

Niddah 39: The Presumptive Status of Ritual Purity

Today's daf starts with a Misha that again is concerned with the laws of niddah, a zava, and the presumptive status of ritual purity. A niddah bleeds either once or many times over a seven day period followed by immersion and ritual purity.  The following eleven days are called yemei ziva, where any bleeding at that time will render her a zava.  

If a woman is in hiding and does not check herself, she is considered to be ritually pure for fear is said to inhibit menstrual bleeding. Rabbi Meir states this without any opposition or debate, but the commentaries do not accept this ruling and so the Sages may have disagreed with him.

Niddah 38: Predicting Childbirth

For the sake of understanding states of niddah and ziva, the rabbis want to be able to understand the timing of conception, pregnancy, labour and post-labour.  We still want to be able to understand women's bodies.  The rabbis teach that a woman can conceive and go into labour on the two hundred and seventy-first, second or third day following conception (because conception itself might be slightly delayed).  This means that a normal pregnancy is a full nine months.  The rabbis also consider a pregnancy of seven months to be normal, for Channa went into labour after "two seasons".  

We learn that the pious men of old would have intercourse with their wives only from Wednesdays until Sundays to avoid the desecration of childbirth on a Shabbat.  However, Shabbat desecration is permitted after a mother gives birth.  A desecration of Shabbat to help a sick person may be hutra, entirely permitted, or dechuya, pushed aside.  The Chasidim HaRishonim considered desecrations of Shabbat in order to help the sick were dechuya, and so efforts were made to avoid any of this work on Shabbat.

The rabbis also speak at length about the number of days that a woman might be a zava, the number of days that she might see - or not see - blood while pregnant, and similar questions involving counting days.  It would seem that all of us hope to predict the unpredictable when we feel particularly out of control.  Childbirth is certainly one of those times.  

Niddah 36: Becoming a Zava During Childbirth

Today we learn about when a woman becomes a zava after childbirth.  A zava is a woman who experiences menstrual-type blood flow when she is not expecting menstrual bleeding.  Torah law says that she is a niddah whether she bleeds once or many times over a period of seven days.  After that time she immerses in the mikvah and is deemed ritually pure.  After that time, there are eleven days where she is called a yemei ziva.  If she bleeds during those days, she is called a zava.  

Being a zava is different from being a niddah.  Bleeding once or twice is called being a zava ketana, one who keeps watch a day for a day - she checks once each day for blood.  After bleeding on a third day, she is considered a zava gedola and must wait a full seven days without seeing blood.  After that period of time she can immerse in a mikvah and is allowed to be with her husband.  She brings a sacrifice the next day as part of her purification process which allows her to enter the Temple and consume sacrifices (reenter the community).  Proofs for this process are found in Vayikra (15:25-29).

Today's Mishna considers a woman in childbirth experiences bleeding.  If that bleeding occurs on days that she would be considered a niddah, she is called a niddah.  If it happens on days that she would be a zava, she would not become a zava.  This is because to be a zava, the blood would have to issue from her and not from the fetus.  It is impossible to determine whether the blood comes from her or from the fetus, and so she cannot be called a zava in such a case.

To imagine that a woman would be thinking about the stress of her status as a niddah or a zava while she is in labour is ridiculous.  To objectify her experience of childbirth to the external measurement of bleeding and counting days is insulting, as well.  Childbirth is the closest thing that human beings experience to G-dliness.  It is telling that the rabbis are able to reduce this experience to its relationship with states of ritual purity or status of the fetus, etc.

Niddah 35: Zavim, Tameh and an Ones

Today's daf is concerned with being a zav or zava.  A zava is a woman who is ritually pure following the seven or fourteen days after childbirth until an offering is brought to the Temple.  A zav is a man who has discharged any white, pus like fluid from his penis.  If this happens once, he is ritually impure for one day (just like a man who has discharged semen).  If this happens twice, the second time on the same or the next day (or one long emission), he is called a zav, where he is considered ritually impure for seven days.  If there is a third discharge within 24 hours of the second discharge, he must bring a sacrifice to the Temple to be deemed ritually pure.  Proof can be found in Vayikra (15:1-15) and in Massechet Zavim.

Rav Huna tells us that the first discharge of a zav will make him tameh, ritually impure.  The second discharge is not meaningful if it came from an ones, an external circumstance beyond his control.  Zavim (2:2) teaches us the seven bedikot, things that are checked, to determine whether the discharge was caused by an ones.  These are:

• ma'achal - overeating food
• mishteh - drinking too much
• masa - carrying a heavy burden
• kefitza - jumping
• choli - illness
• mar'eh - seeing a woman (even without having sensual thoughts)
• hirhur - having sensual thoughts (even without having seen a woman)

Tosafot define mar'eh as seeing a couple engaged in sexual relations, while the Rambam defines mar'eh as seeing a woman and fantasizing about her.  Other rabbis suggest that mar'eh refers to a person seeing something that frightens him/her, which is not related to thoughts of sexuality.

Niddah 34: Blood, Ziva, Jews, Non-Jews and Imparting Ritual Impurity

The Mishna on today's daf compares the blood of a menstruating gentile woman/gentile zava and the blood discharged by a female Jewish leper during the days of purity after childbirth.  Beit Shammai rule unusually leniently, deeming them ritually pure, and Beit Hillel argue that the blood of a gentile woman is the same as that of her saliva and her urine, which impart impurity only when moist.  They argue that even the blood discharged by a Jewish leper during those days imparts ritual impurity only when moist.  This refers to the seven days for a boy or fourteen days for a girl after child birth but before immersion.  

The rabbis discuss whether or not the transmission of impurity applies to both women and men.  And a gentile woman's saliva and urine might not impart impurity at all.  The Sages decide that the blood of a gentile woman is less common and it does impart ritual impurity.  

Moving along, the rabbis discuss the ziva, non-seminal discharge, of a Gentile man.  They also discuss the emission of the semen of a Gentile man by a Jewish woman.  His semen is considered to be ritually pure, and thus she is ritually pure even less than three twelve-hour periods after their act of intercourse.  Small amounts of urine are thought to escape with the emission of semen.  In the case of a Gentile woman who emits the semen of a Jew, the semen is impure because it came from a Jew.  The Gentile's semen is considered to be pure according to Torah law and impure according to rabbinic law.

Our daf continues to discuss the specifics of a zavim and lepers and their semen both inside and out of women's wombs.  

Today's daf mentions sexual relations between Jews and non-Jews casually and without commentary.  These relationships may be theoretical, but likely they were happening in the times of the Talmud as they happen in our times.  

Niddah 33: On Tzedokim, Perushim and the Difficulties with Niddah

We continue to compare Tzedokim, the strictly observant and elite Sadducees, with the Perushim or Pharisees, those who followed the rabbinic traditions of our Sages.  The rabbis understand that the Sadducees are devout, but they do not trust that they are so devout that they will reliably follow the laws regarding ritual purity.  Today's daf considers how ritual impurity is imparted from menstruating woman to her husband (and vessels and things that she lies or sits upon) to things that he sits upon or things that touch his body.  

The daf is also concerned with women checking themselves for blood at the appropriate times.  A new Mishna notes that Tzedokot or "girls" follow the ways of their ancestors unless we learn otherwise.  Rabbe Yosei states that Tzedokot do check with the Sages when they are unsure about their status, and so they can be trusted to not have intercourse with their husbands at inappropriate times.  Therefore they lessen the risk of imparting ritual impurity.  

The continual focus on the laws of Niddah is challenging.  Women's naturally functioning bodies are considered to be ritually impure for half of each month.  Although feminist interpretation suggests that ritual impurity allows for distance from the regular responsibilities and obligations of everyday life, it is difficult to imagine ritual impurity as a positive thing.  Ritual impurity suggests that we would interrupt or defile a sacred object or ceremony or person should we come into contact with them.  We do not cause that object or ceremony or person to become "better" in some way; those things are "worse" if they come into contact with us.  

It is understood that ritual impurity does not only apply to women while menstruating, but the study of Massechet Niddah immerses us in that particular form of condemnation.  And this is not something that we can stop by will, like masturbation.  It is the nature of niddah - diminishing something that represents the power of birthing - that sits heavy upon me as I read more and more about these laws.

Niddah 32: Kutim and Ritual Purity

Today we begin the fourth perek of Massechet Niddah.  It is called Benot Kutim, Samaritans, beginning with a description of how ritual purity affects these people.  Because the Kutim were considered to be extremely careful about their practice of halacha (or, at least, the mitzvot that they accepted as given by G-d), they could be trusted to be as ritually pure as the Sages would demand.  

Regarding niddah, the Kutim women were considered ritually impure after any discharge, even if it is green, which does not generally affect the status of a woman.  If she menstruated after this, the Kutim would begin her counting of days too early and then would conclude it too early.  This is why the Sages decided that the Kutim were called ritually impure permanently.  However, there is a story shared about a man whose spittle landed on the robe of a High Priest when they were speaking.  The women of the community had gone to the Sages with questions about ritual purity when they were unsure about discharge, and so ritual impurity had not touched the High Priest.

Steinsaltz teaches about the relationship between the Kutim and those who followed the rabbinical tradition.  After many years of conflict, it was decided that Kutim were not to be called Jewish; their traditions were distinctly different from Jewish traditions, mostly because of some forms of idol worship.  The Kutim may have been thought of as idol worshippers, even if they wished to convert to Judaism, and so such a conversion would not be accepted (Yevamot).  Now, Kutim do not worship idols and many people even accept them as part of the larger Jewish community.

Niddah 31: Who Creates an Embryo

On Niddah 30, we are told the story that embryos learn the entire Torah and at birth they are slapped by an angel which causes them to forget what they have learned.  We are given several stories that would justify this, including what would make learning easier in the future.  

On today's day, we learn that a child is born of their father's white seed which contributes to bones, sinews, brain, and white in the eyes.  They are born also of their mother's red seed, which contributes blood, flesh, skin and the black of their eyes.  G-d also contributes to the development of a child, including their spirit, soul, countenance, eyesight, hearing, speech, movement, understanding and wisdom.  When the child eventually dies, G-d takes back G-d's portion and leaves the other portions.

The Gemara notes that the father contributes five elements, the mother contributes four elements, and G-d contributes nine elements, which is the same amount as the mother and father's contributions combined.  Rav Aharon Kutna writes in Mishchat Aharon: these eighteen elements equal eighteen, which means "life" according to gemmatria. Once G-d takes G-d's elements, the person no longer has a life force which leads to death.

We learn that Rabbeinu Tam teaches that a mother and father each contribute five elements to an infant and G-d contributes ten elements.  The She'iltot speak of adding the element of blood so that the parents contribute equally.  The Netziv teaches in Ha'amek She'elah that mothers obviously contributed blood, and so it did not need to be noted.  

Niddah 29: When is a Child Actually Born? Unusual and Other Births

Rabbi Yochanan and Rabbi Elazar debate about what defines the birth of a child.  Must the bulk of a baby's head come out first, or must the bulk of the embryo be born?  The rabbis consider how much of a baby must be seen to be considered "born".  They also discuss think about what should be considered to be an unusual birth.  They wonder about twins, particularly when one twin is partially born and then the other twin is born first.  In such a case, is the firstborn the first or second child to be seen?  What if the first child is then born still?  The rabbis also discuss the difference between a stillborn baby and an embryo born in pieces.  

Niddah 28: Androgynos and Tumtum Offspring

After discussing the status of a woman who does not give birth but who's offspring shows his/her hand and then pulls it back, we turn to a new and important Mishna.  We learn that a woman might give birth to a child that is neither male nor female.  It might be an androgynos, one with both male and female genitalia, or a tumtum, one whose genitals are covered or hidden.  

Both are considered to be both male and female, where the mother is ritually impure due to childbirth for fourteen days like after having had a girl and any blood that she sees is ritually pure until forty days after birth, like having a having had a boy.  The Mishna considers the status of a woman who gives birth to twins: a tumtum and a female; an androgynos and a boy.  Then it mentions offspring who are born in pieces, who are born breech, and who are born with most of the head (to the forehead) first.

The Gemara discusses many issues, including whether or not those who are androgynos and those who are tumtum are included when the Torah mentions men and women.  Are these people included when we mention other sexes or are they their own genders?  How would this be proven?  The Gemara begins to examine valuation based on sex/gender.

Niddah 27: Multiple Pregnancies

We learn more about the birth of the placenta today.  Rabban ba Sheila says that Rav Mattana says in the name of Shmuelas that a placenta is considered to be connected to a birth that took place within ten days earlier.  Rabba bar bar Chana quotes Rabbi Yochanan saying that an afterbirth is connected to a birth that took place within twenty-three days earlier.  Rav Yosef said twenty--four days.  Rav Acha ben Rav Avira quoted Rabbi Yitchak saying that he know of a birth of a second child following the first birth after thirty-three (thirty-four, says Rav Yosef) days.  Rabbi Avin bar Adda quotes Rav Menachem ish Kfar She'arim (or Beit She'arim) saying that one incident describes a woman who was pregnant with twins where the birth of the second child took place thirty three days after the first.  This happened to Yehuda and Chizkiyya, the sons of Rabbi Chiyyah.

This contradicts Rav's ruling in yesterday's Mishna.  It also suggests that Rav, Rabbi Chiyya's nephew, did not properly know about the birth of his cousins' births.  Tosafot try to reconcile this by suggesting that Rav knew there were longer times between births but because it was unusual, it should not be used to develop halacha.  The Ran says that Rava's statement applies to situations where both fetuses were fully developed.  If one was not fully develop, it may remain in utero for longer periods of time.

Abaye explains Yehuda and Chizikiyya's births based on a rabbinic idea: normal gestation cycles are either seven or nine months.  Steinsaltz explains that this is not supported by modern science but that superfetation, a double pregnancy where a fetus is formed during an existing pregnancy, exists in rare cases.

Niddah 26: The Placenta and Ritual Impurity

To begin, we are reminded that when a woman gives birth she is tum'at leida, ritually impure through childbirth (Vayikra 12:1-5).  If she bears a boy, she is ritually impure for seven days; if she has a girl she is ritually impure for 14 days.  If she has a boy, any vaginal bleeding does not render her impure for 33 days.  If she has a girl, any vaginal bleeding does not refer her ritually impure for 66 days.  These laws apply to women who have miscarriages or babies who are stillborn.  

Today's Mishna teaches about the placenta.  It states that "if there is an afterbirth in the house, the house is ritually impure - not because the status of an afterbirth is that of an offspring, but because there is no afterbirth without an offspring".  The afterbirth demonstrates that there was a birth and thus tum'at leida apply.  We do not know whether the child was a girl or a boy and so both sets of laws are followed regarding ritual purity.

Rav teaches in the Gemara that

• Rav Yehuda quotes Rav teaching that if the placenta is born within three days after giving birth, it is considered to be part of the birthing process of that infant.  After that time, the placenta indicates a second birth, and the woman will have to follow the laws of one who gives birth to a placenta
• Rav teaches that two children in one pregnancy are always born immediately one after another.

How could Rav make both of these seemingly contradictory statements?  Rabbis discuss even three children in one birth and the delayed birth of twins or triplets.  The rabbis considered a baby who is born even a month after another.  The rabbis ask about pregnancies that happen concurrently, which we understand can happen under extremely rare circumstances.  Steinsaltz notes that many of these cases, one of the infants is absorbed by the other.

Niddah 25: Miscarriage in the Shape of a Sandal Fish

We have been learning about differently shaped miscarriages.  Today the rabbis suggest that if a miscarriage or an afterbirth is shaped like a sandal, it is not considered to have been a viable offspring and thus it does not render the woman ritually impure.  

The rabbis discuss what a sandal is.  Although there is one opinion that the sandal is the sandal that fits on one's foot, most rabbis agree that the sandal is referring to a sandal fish, which is flat with eyes on the sides of its head.  The rabbis go into great detail describing the look of a sandal fish.  One of the descriptions is that of a bull's tongue, which would stand whether the rabbis refer to a sandal or a sandal fish.  

These discussions are extremely coarse and without any emotion.  They are theoretical, legal arguments without regard for the woman whose lost fetus is being examined.  These arguments remind me of conversations in Massechets Kiddushin and Ketubot which were similarly focused on women's bodies and yet detached from women's lives.

Niddah 24: Miscarriage, Viable Offspring, Ritual Purity and Lilliths (Female Demons)

The first part of our daf considers women who give birth to offspring with severe disabilities.  Are they viable?  How long will they survive outside of the mother's body?  Many disabilities, including fused skulls, fused esophaguses, and flat faces to be reason enough to deem an offspring not viable, thus not a true childbirth, and thus not causing ritual impurity in the mother.  Other conditions, like a child with two spines and two backs, also fall into this category.  A crooked spine, however, will lead to a viable offspring but one who is blemished.  Thus if he is a priest, he will not be able to serve in the Temple.

The rabbis also discuss the length of time that a fetus has been in the womb of a woman and how that might affect viability.  They also discuss consumption of animals' offspring when they are born at different gestational lengths.

What if a woman gives birth to one with the form of a human but with wings?  First of all, is this giving birth, or is it simply expelling discharge?  The former leads to ritual impurity and an offering, while that latter does not.  Some rabbis consider this to be a Lillith, and Lillith is called a female demon by several of these rabbis.  The rabbis note that once it was ruled that such an offspring a viable child but it had wings, thus demystifying the demonic connections with Lillith.  Rambam was scientific and rational in his examinations, and he named such an offspring as a child with what looks like wings on its back.  

It is noted that Rabbi Chanina once deemed a woman ritually pure after having an offspring that looked like a snake.  He was about to be chastised by Rabbi Gamliel when it was learned that Chanina's ruling was based on Gamliel's teaching about the shape of the eyes of an offspring.  Gamliel did not go further with his admonition given that the ruling was based on his own teaching.  This is used as a principle: rabbis should state the reasons behind their rulings and not just their rulings.

Niddah 23: Rabbi Zeira Doesn't Think It's Funny

Today's daf speaks of miscarriages where the fetus emerges looking like an animal, a bird, part of a human, etc.  The rabbis make decisions about when the offspring is considered to be the miscarriage of a human form and thus the woman is ritually pure.  Very often part of a fetus is discharged, and women were not considered to be ritually impure after these miscarriages.

At one point, Rabbi Yirmeya speaks about an animal developing as a human embryo and thus becoming betrothed one day.  In fact, this betrothal could cause a problem because of Chalitza.  Rabbi Zeira does not find this funny.  He treated Torah study with extreme seriousness, even suffering needlessly to prove his love for Torah.  It is good to learn that other rabbis hoped to help him gain perspective on Torah learning, even if their example was somewhat insensitive.

Niddah 22: Discharging Items that Might Render a Woman Ritually Impure

Yesterday's Mishna noted that if a woman discharges a number of things that are red - things in the shape of shells, or hairs, for example - she is ritually impure if they are indeed blood.  Today's daf clarifies how this was done.  A woman would ask her rabbi about the discharged items. The rabbis would suggest that she put them in water to see if they dissolve.  If so, they are blood and she is deemed ritually impure.  If they remain intact, a doctor is consulted.  

Two examples are provided.  Rabbi Elazar ben Rabbi Tzadok told stories of his father being asked for advice.  If the rabbis of Yavne did not know the answer, a doctor would be consulted.  The doctor explained that items that look like red hairs are actually from a mole within a woman's uterus that released hairs.

These stories are still used to prove that experts can be consulted, even by rabbis, when the rabbis do not have full knowledge of a subject.  One of the great measures of Judaism is its capacity to hold many opinions.  Even more, when showing humility, the great rabbis teach us to listen, not only to preach about what we think we understand.

Niddah 21: Discharge of Different Types of Blood

Today's daf begins Perek III.  It begins with a Mishna about childbirth, which states that women will be named ritually impure if they discharge anything with blood from their uteruses.  This includes any amorphous discharge, anything shaped like a shell, or soil, or a mosquito, or a small despised thing like a reptile, or even a small animal.  Different tests are required, including putting these things in water to check for blood or bones, but we know that the rabbis consider women to be ritually impure if there is a question of childbirth, stillbirth, or miscarriage.  

The Mishna continues, discussing different consequences of male children and female children (where ritual impurity lasts for different amounts of time for male and female children).  The rabbis consider situations that might cause them to consider a woman ritually pure after discharge through the vaginal canal.

Niddah 20: Black Menstrual Blood

Today's daf begins with a descriptions of different shades of black.  Ink, black olives, tar, ravens - the rabbis suggest that if menstrual blood is lighter than these shades of black, it is ritually pure.  If it is that dark, it is ritually impure.

The rabbis wonder whether or not bath attendants from other places wear black clothing.  Rabbi Yanai is said to have told his sons not to bury him in white nor in black so that he not seem like a bridegroom amongst mourners or a mourner amongst bridegrooms.  

The rabbis consider sources of blood other than menstruation.  The blood of desire was identified by its smell.  Then there was the blood of lice, where the rabbi would provide a woman with a comb for removing lice.  The rabbis also consider the colour of diluted wine when examining blood for ritual impurity.

Niddah 19: The Colours of Menstrual Blood

A new Mishna discusses the five different colours of women's menstrual blood.  Red, black, the bright colour of the crocus, the colour of water, and the colour of diluted wine.  Of course, the rabbis specify further, for example, is the red the colour of a wounded animal, or a wounded finger, etc.?  They also consider which colours might be ritually impure and which would be considered to be ritually pure.

One of the main comparisons is between menstrual blood and the colour of blood when bloodletting. As Weill, there is much discussion of menstrual blood which is closer to black or green in colour.  

How does one decide whether blood is ritually impure or not?  The rabbis compare menstrual blood to leprous marks. Leprous marks are noted for their paleness; their colour determines whether or not they indicate ritual impurity.  

Niddah 18: Women's Bodies as Architecture

Both yesterday and today's daf debates several points regarding what is permitted around intercourse. One point is that a man should not be made to find his wife repulsive, and so if lights must be turned off to achieve that end, so be it.  Another is that one must not cut and dispose of one's nails in public. More: one should not eat peeled foods - garlic, onion, egg - after the day that they have been peeled, one should not have intercourse after bloodletting for it weakens the body and thus the person to be conceived.  

We learn that if snow becomes ritually impure, only the spot touched is impure.  However, if one holds an earthenware vessel over the pile of snow, the entire thing is not ritually pure.

A new Mishna teaches that a woman's organs are known as the corridor, which is the vaginal canal, the inner room, which is the uterus, and the upper storey, which is the bladder.  Blood from the corridor and the upper story are ritually pure, but all are said to be ritually impure because it is not known whether or not the blood originated in the inner room.  There is also said to be a vestibule between the inner room and the upper storey.  Blood coming from below the vestibule might be ritually pure.  It is difficult to understand how the the rabbis could imagine that this would be  determined.

Many euphemisms are used for sexual relations; particularly for women's body parts.  The face, eating bread... It would seem that the rabbis were embarrassed to discuss these things.  But clearly, they were not embarrassed at all.  Every subject is open for Torah interpretation.  Perhaps especially women's bodies, which are so often off limits in every manner. 

Niddah 17: Intercourse During the Day, What is Hated by G-d, Privacy

After a long discussion about examination of cloths, the rabbis continue that discussion with a new Mishna.  In it, Best Hillel claims that women should examine themselves before and after each act of intercourse over the course of one night, and thus there should be light in the room.  Beit Shammai disagrees, of course.  Instead, women should examine themselves once before the first act of intercourse and once after the last act of intercourse over the course of one night.  

The rabbis consider several issues:

• whether a drop of blood might have been covered up by semen in a subsequent act of intercourse - this drop might be missed if an examination does not happen between each act
• Whether or not it is permitted to have intercourse during the day, as the laws of modesty suggest that we do not look at nakedness
• Whether or not it is enough to create darkness within the home, even by using one's clothing to cover the bodies
• whether exceptional circumstances, like being overcome with great desire, could permit intercourse during the day
• if the examination cloth is lost, whether the examination must be repeated 

The rabbis attempt to interpret the phrase, "everything is in the hand of Heaven except for the fear of heaven".  They speak of the angel of conception being available at night, and how this angel takes a drop of semen and shows it to the Lord so that G-d will describe what kind of person this will become.  We are also told that there are several things hated by G-d that are also hated by others, including one who goes to public drinking houses chats, or is short-tempered, or lives in the highest house, or urinates while holding his penis, or suddenly enters a home (for he could disturb those who assume privacy).

It seems that much of today's day is about privacy.  How private are the most private activities?  These are not hypothetical situations, but the realities of people's daily lives.  How do we understand what information can be determined by individuals, couples, rabbis, communities, or only by G-d?

Niddah 15; Assumptions about a Change in Status.

Does it matter if a woman immerses in a mikvah?  Today's daf looks at safek, what is unknown, and vadai, what is reality.  If a woman returns from mikvah, should her husband assume that she has changed status from niddah to ritually pure?  We are told the story of a maidservant who drops a non-viable infant into a pit.  When a priest looks to see whether the child is male or female (to determine other rituals), he could have become ritually impure.  The rabbis say that he is ritually pure, since the infant likely was removed by a weasel or another predatory animal.

Niddah 14: Couples Examining for Menstrual Blood

We begin with an interesting conversation about men's avoidance of seminal emissions.  They are not to sleep on their backs, which may lead to such an occurrence.  But one must not say the bedtime Shema while on one's back; it should be said while standing and clothed.  If a person is too large or tired to turn to their side to say the Shema, it is permitted to remain lying on one's back.  Lying slightly to the side is alright.  Lying on one's stomach would mean that a man's penis is touching the bed, which seems to be dangerous if trying to avoid arousal.  

A new Mishna teaches that a woman who does not menstruate regularly should examine herself both before and after intercourse for blood.  Her husband should also examine himself after intercourse.  If either of them find blood after intercourse, they are both ritually impure for seven days, after which they are to bring sin offerings.  Especially modest women check with three different cloths.  Even if women check themselves hours after intercourse, finding blood is arguably a determination of ritual impurity retroactively.

The rabbis suggest several opinions regarding how these cloths are used, when they are used, and when their findings lead to ritual impurity.  There is a debate about blood found when a woman is urinating might have originated in the urethra or the uterus.  There are many rabbis who agree that any blood found, even if the examination cloth was not checked properly pre-intercourse, means that the couple is retroactively ritually impure. Stringency is expected by many rabbis when it comes to menstrual blood.

The rabbis also discuss how the cloth might be used after intercourse.  It would happen immediately, while still in bed.  A woman could put the cloth under the blanket and immediately check herself.  Anything after that time is considered to be much later, and not as reliable.  However, it would still result in a stringent ruling according to most rabbis.

Niddah 13: Prohibitions on Examinations, Masturbation, Seminal Emissions

There are two Mishnayot in today's daf, which begins the second perek of Massechet Niddah.  They assert that a woman who cannot examine herself (often one who is deaf/blind or an 'imbecile') may be examined by woman friend to prepare her for partaking of teruma, but a man who examines her should have his hand cut off.  The Gemara suggests that women would not be aroused by this type of examination, while men might be aroused.  There is some discussion about. whether a man who does such examinations regularly (compared with those who do this occasionally) might not be aroused by such examinations.

It is important to note that the rabbis base their conversations on the prohibition against 'wasting semen'.  Several different proof texts are provided to help us remember that expelling semen without the possibility of a pregnancy is a crime worthy of the death penalty.  

The rabbis discuss what a man should do if he becomes aroused.  Is he permitted to hold his penis so that the arousal diminishes?  Only a coarse cloth would be used for such an action, as a soft cloth might encourage further arousal.  What about when urinating - is a man permitted to hold his penis at that time?  Does it matter where he holds his penis?  Does it matter whether or not he is married?  We learn that holding toward the tip of the penis is permitted as it this does not cause arousal, and that married men do not have as powerful inappropriate sexual urges, and so they are permitted to hold their penises while urinating.  Before deciding this, however, there is much discussion of the importance of urinating away from oneself without touching one's penis. 

There is further conversation about how to manage men's seminal emissions, particularly those who are "imbeciles" and might not understand when they have emissions nor how to ritually purify themselves.  It is suggested that they cover their penises with pouches that show any semen emitted.  The rabbis suggest that that pouch be made of metal so that the semen is not absorbed.  It is hard to imagine just how uncomfortable this apparatus might be.

The rabbis discuss whether or not a man's hand should actually be cut off, or whether this is a more metaphoric understanding.  They also discuss men who have converted to Judaism as dangerous - they might "play with children" and teach children inappropriate lessons.  This is taken to mean that converts could marry girls who are not yet ready to have children.  It is prohibited to marry girls who are not ready to have children, for intercourse with these girls would also be a "waste of semen".  Sad that this is not because of child abuse, but these are the reasons understood in the time of the Talmud.  

Men should hot encourage any thoughts which might encourage a seminal emission.  They should change their thoughts to "higher" thoughts of Torah rather than on these lower, worldly topics.  Masturbation is considered to be a form of adultery, whether it is done "with one's hand or one's foot".  

The rabbis are clearly attempting to force sexual urges to be expressed within the somewhat narrow confines of male/female marital relationships.  This form of societal control is one of the simplest way to enforce an entire societal structure, for it creates family units that rely on divisions of labour and gendered roles/relationships within the community.

Today's daf also makes one wonder why a woman who is deaf and blind or an 'imbicile' would be preparing for intercourse at all.  Were these women able to consent to intercourse at all?  The assumption is that all women want to have intercourse, within the boundaries of marriage, to whichever man they have been promised.

Niddah 12: Examinations Before and After Intercourse

Today's daf focuses on how often a woman should examine herself for blood to ensure that she is a niddah.  If she finds blood, she is a niddah and ritually pure items become ritually impure.  This includes her husband - if intercourse with his wife leads him to have touched her menstrual blood, he is now ritually impure and must bring a sin offering.

Rabbi Zebra says that she should examine herself before intercourse.  Rav Yehuda disagrees, suggesting that her husband might become insecure about her status which could affect his desire to be sexually intimate with his wife.  The rabbis debate about examinations both before and after intercourse.  Modest women were said to check themselves before intercourse if they were fully awake.  Men are not permitted to have intercourse with their wives if their wives are asleep (Nedarim 20b).  However, women might be groggy and not examine themselves.

The rabbis also speak about women who are have irregular cycles.  The rabbis argue about whether or not they are always required to examine themselves before and after intercourse, even though this might affect husbands negatively.  Some women might use the same cloth to check themselves before and after intercourse, which would not be as "modest".  

The Rema reminds us that women who have set menstrual cycles need not check themselves before and/or after intercourse.